Colonoscopy

I must have been one of the lucky ones. I was very nervous about the procedure and of having a GA. In fact I had gas and air for the first time (which I thought great) and very little discomfort at all.
Good news, it was clear. Not so good, I still often get the violent groin pain that was being investigated.
Shorts? How odd!

Hi, I had one and it was agony even with both sedation and gas and air. I have to have another this August and am going to pay privately and ask for enough stuff to knock me out. The explanation for the pain was a winding twisty bowel and they kept knocking the walls!

D.S. was about to pass out with the pain. They had to stop and abandon the procedure. I think if you have a damaged colon, then it can be dodgy to proceed.

I’m beginning to wonder if I’m unusual. I really felt no pain through a colonoscopy, no sedation, watched it on the monitor and found it interesting. The more difficult part for me was the need to drink what felt like buckets of horrid tasting liquid the day before and spending a long, long while in the bathroom. If it was necessary I wouldn’t be concerned about another. As I said, I must be unusual.

It depends what's wrong with you of course! Glad it went well corner gran.

If there is nothing actually wrong with your bowel then it will not be as painful as those of us who have bowel disease and previous operations. My next one is in two weeks but I have had that many horrible things done to me that it is just another thing to tick off the list.

Hope it goes well Harri gran

My sister-in-law had one recently and she couldn't drink the laxative liquid that she was given - she has a very weird stomach and vomited it out before it could do its job. She didn't go into details of how they cleared her out, presumably an enema. Sorry if that's TMI.

Good luck Harrigran, hope it goes well for you.

Good luck with yours Harri - I hope very much that it is clear.

Had my first colonoscopy yesterday. The preparation of dietary limitations followed by fasting was pretty grim, but the actual procedure was fine. I had painkiller but no sedation, and was able to watch the whole thing. There were two doctors, one "driving" and one "navigating", and some of the instructions "up a bit.....left a bit.......now to the right" reminded me of "The Navy Lark".

I was pleased to be told "Good news" at the end.

I have had a letter telling me that my colonoscopy will be performed by a nurse this time. I am concerned as all previous ones were carried out by a consultant.

grumpaa

I’ve had two colonoscopies, both under general anaesthetic. I’m appalled at the thought of being awake during the procedure. Sounds horrible.

Listening to a programme on Radio 4 the other day they were talking about a virtual colonoscopy. They did say that many/most people cannot tolerate the current one.

To do this virtual one they do a scan and then transpose it so they can travel through and see what is going on. Amazing! Let's hope they get on with making it available asap.

I was also reminded of the film "Fantastic Voyage", but looked in vain for the miniaturised submarine and Raquel Welch.

grumppa

Harrigran - I had a nurse who appeared very familiar with the procedure he was carrying out. My main feeling over the whole thing was relief that I was not expected to have a GA as I'm apprehensive of them.

In some hospitals the patient is asked in advance to advise their own choice of music, not just the genre but the specific cd!

Update on colonoscopy, I had sedation and it didn't really work. The most uncomfortable one to date plus the equipment malfunctioned. I had four polyps removed which had grown since last year's examination. The nurses were lovely, very kind but was glad when it was over.

Can understand the relief harri. Hope you are comfortable today.

My husband, who says himself that he has a very low pain threshold, had a colonoscopy and said afterwards that it was not at all distressing - he could hardly remember it. He must have had a lot of sedation because it was quite a while before they would discharge him to come home. All the other people that I know who have had a colonoscopy have said it was fine - not at all painful.

Though I had sedation, I really didn't feel as if I had. Like most people, I've had sedation in the past and felt rather "out of it" but this time I felt completely with it. I believe that is the reason I found it a very unpleasant experience. I think the poster who said that the idea is to give as little sedation as possible and get the patient out as quickly as possible has probably hit the nail on the head.

Given that you have had distressing experiences before, I think you should discuss it with your GP and discuss whether it would be possible to have a GA (which I think they will be very reluctant to do) or high sedation. It is definitely worth speaking to your doctor as this must be causing you anxiety and stress.

I had sedation and pain killers. The sedation was light and I knew what was going on but was relaxed. I had gas and air if I needed it. It was NHS.

I had sedation AND painkiller for sedation before an endoscopy. Very effective.

I thought that would appear just under Nanooka's message!

I have had two with a sedative both times. I had just mild discomfort and watched the whole thing on the screen. Two polyps removed there and then which could not be done with a virtual colonoscopy. The prep to clear the bowel is not pleasant but just remember people actually pay for a good clearout with colonic irrigation!